New Westminster Bruins
The New Westminster Bruins were a junior team in the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name: * 1971–1981 (Formerly the Estevan Bruins, now the Kamloops Blazers) * 1983–1988 (Formerly the Nanaimo Islanders, now the Tri-City Americans) Both incarnations of the franchise played at Queen's Park Arena in the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster, British Columbia. History First Bruins The franchise began in 1946 as the Humboldt Indians of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and moved to Estevan to become the Bruins in 1957. They were a founding member of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966. The Estevan Bruins moved on again to New Westminster in 1971. They had been a successful franchise in Estevan, winning the President's Cup in 1968. Once the team arrived in New Westminster, the success continued throughout much of the decade. The Bruins won the President's Cup four times in a row between 1975 and 1978. They made it to the Memorial Cup finals four years in a row as well, losing in 1975 and 1976 to the Toronto Marlboros and Hamilton Fincups, respectively, and winning it in 1977 and 1978. In 1981 the Bruins moved to Kamloops, British Columbia where they would become first the Kamloops Junior Oilers, and in 1984, the Kamloops Blazers. The franchise's success has continued on the ice in Kamloops, and as of 2006 the team has won a total of eleven WHL titles and five Memorial Cups between its years in Estevan, New Westminster and Kamloops. Second Bruins The second incarnation of the Bruins arrived in New Westminster in 1983 from Nanaimo, British Columbia, where they had previously been known as the Nanaimo Islanders. The team originated in Calgary in 1966–67 with a stop as the Billings Bighorns. The team only played one season in Nanaimo before moving. The new Bruins did not enjoy the same level of success, and lasted only five seasons in New Westminster before moving to Kennewick, Washington, to become the Tri-City Americans. This franchise has never won the WHL championship in any of its incarnations. Season-by-season Record First Bruins (1971–81) ''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against'' Second Bruins (1983–88) NHL Alumni Totals include both editions of the Bruins. *Mike Allison *Glenn Anderson *Stu Barnes *Barry Beck *Fred Berry *Ken Berry *Craig Berube *Al Cameron *Steve Clippingdale *Ed Cooper *Scott Daniels *Jim Dobson *Todd Ewen *Link Gaetz *Ron Greschner *Glen Hanlon *Lorne Henning *Bob Hess *Brent Hughes *John-Paul Kelly *Darin Kimble *Dean Kolstad *Olaf Kölzig *Doug Kostynski *Kevin Krook *Gord Lane *Derek Laxdal *Gord Laxton *Jamie Leach *Mark Lofthouse *Larry Lozinski *Bernie Lukowich *Mike MacWilliam *Stewart Malgunas *Don Martineau *Brad Maxwell *Alan May *Jeff McLean *Larry Melnyk *Vic Mercredi *Jay More *Glenn Mulvenna *John Ogrodnick *Dave Orleski *Clayton Pachal *Harold Phillipoff *Bill Ranford *Mark Recchi *Pokey Reddick *Terry Richardson *Florent Robidoux *Cliff Ronning *Kevin Schamehorn *Rick Shinske *Reid Simpson *Barry Smith *Vern Smith *Stan Smyl *Ed Staniowski *Daryl Stanley *Bob Stumpf *Brian Young *Miles Zaharko *Mike Zanier References *2005–06 WHL Guide *hockeydb.com Category:Western Hockey League (junior) team Category:Canadian ice hockey teams